by Douglas Ankney
Touch DNA—“the invisible biological traces deposited through a person’s skin’s contact with an object or other person”—can be found at crime scenes, but detection presents a challenge for officers attempting to recover it. However, researchers M. Recipon and P. Kanemann reported in forensicmag.com that a newly developed ...
by Douglas Ankney
In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that issues not raised in a prior appeal are not waived in a subsequent appeal following de novo resentencing. The Court also held that a defendant’s position as an “essential member” ...
by Douglas Ankney
In a published precedential ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit adopted the doctrine of abatement ab initio for when a criminal defendant dies during the pendency of a direct appeal from his conviction.
In 2019, Francis M. Reynolds was convicted by jury of ...
by Douglas Ankney
With the passage of House Bill 531 (“HB 531”), Maryland eliminated the $50 parole fee charged to people returning home from prison. HB 531 also ended the $100 fee charged for drug and alcohol testing.
Championed by the nonprofit BUILD and its sister organization Turnaround Tuesday, HB ...
by Douglas Ankney
According to microbiologists, every individual has a “unique community of microorganisms on and within their body.” These communities, known as “microbiomes,” consist of microbes “specific to different parts of the body, can persist over long periods of time and can be transferred to other people and to ...
by Douglas Ankney
On June 5, 2024, Plaintiff Yareni Rios-Gonzalez agreed to accept payment of $8.5 million from Defendants Town of Platteville, Colorado, and the City of Fort Lupton to settle her suit related to the injuries she suffered after police officers handcuffed her and left her unattended in a ...
by Douglas Ankney
In May of 2024, Shelly Bradbury reported in the Denver Post that “[a] handful of local law enforcement agencies are considering using drones as first responders, that is, send them in response to 911 calls as police departments across Colorado continue to widely embrace the use of ...
by Douglas Ankney
Judge Don Willett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge Carlton Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi have authored opinions excoriating the doctrine of qualified immunity (“QI”). QI is a judicially created doctrine manufactured by the ...
by Douglas Ankney
According to the authors of a study from the University of New Mexico, “[n]onverbal behaviors (i.e., head dynamics) represent an important, yet understudied, form of communication that may enhance our ability to detect certain forms of psychopathology, including psychopathy.” A research team used an automated detection algorithm ...
by Douglas Ankney
The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, ruled that Jeremiah Paul’s conversation with Los Angeles Police Department Officer Charles Kumlander and Officer Helmkamp was not consensual based on the manner in which the officers approached Paul’s vehicle.
The following facts were taken from a hearing ...
